Just a week ago, all the talk was about Mitt Romney being on the verge of winning three straight primaries and locking up the nomination with a likely win in South Carolina.

Now, Romney has had one win taken away and looks to be going down in SC. If Newt Gingrich wins in SC as many polls and pundits are now predicting, this could be the biggest and quickest turnaround in GOP primary history. As Mitt said in NH, “We’ve just made history!” Or maybe he should have said, “We’re now history!”.

Mitt Romney is still the odds on favorite to win the GOP nomination for President but instead of the cakewalk he was expecting just a week ago, it could be an expensive and bruising fight with Newt Gingrich to get there.

Though I’ve made the arguments as to why a quick win for Romney would leave him less prepared to face Obama, a prolonged battle with Newt looks to strip him of his smart executive facade who can handle any situation.

And though some are suggesting a parallel between Obama’s battle with Hillary strengthening Obama, I completely disagree.

Romney’s battle with Gingrich is a fight with a junkyard dog. If Romney becomes more experienced in that kind of fight, it hardly prepares him for a fight that will be far more strategic and powerful than an angry slapping contest.

The polls in South Carolina close tonight at 7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST and you’re invited to join us here to blog about the primary tonight in South Carolina and what it means going forward.

Someone just commented on a FB thread regarding Newt’s win: “He won because, as they used to say, South Carolina is too small to be a country and too big to be an insane asylum. And that was in the 19th century, when they tried to be polite.”

Wow that is one good comment. When i was down there I noticed the strain in relationships. It almost seemed like there was something bubbling just below the surface and everyone was being super nice in order not to blow completely.

It was really weird. I went to the mall with my cousin and there was a group of AA kids coming toward us, she tensed up I could feel it and they walked all the way around us. It was just creepy. I also sat in(what I did not know was) the AA section of the burger king. this little ole lady came up to me and told me i should sit on my own side because the white people would get upset. She was so sweet, she told me “it is an unwritten rule”.

One of the problems that I see in the Republican primaries is that these guys are so out of touch with the reality that the American people are going through that it is really quite amazing. We are seeing a middle class collapsing. We are seeing poverty increasing. We’re seeing a nation in which the rich are getting richer and we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country

[…]

These guys are way, way out of touch from where the American people are, and I think when you look at them issue by issue, tax breaks for the rich, cut Social Security, more money on defense spending, they are literally a fringe element in American society.

Sally and Sue and Bito, I live and was born here in Vermont. Bernie Sanders has had my vote every time he runs. I know him well and have knowledge that he is real. He cares about you and me ! Bernie is correct on almost 100% of his issues. It is my opinion that Bernie is the best Senator America has.

Nirek, although I don’t live in Vermont, I do feel like Bernie is my senator, too. I am on SSD and I know he is looking out for me. Even when he takes a different side from the President, he is taking a side he feels need heard and not getting that. He supports the President but someone still is needed to point out something that he might be missing and Bernie is that man. There is no better guard for SS and Medicare than Bernie Sanders! Thank you for voting for him and keeping there for all of us.

The other story here is this is the first state where there has been a significantly higher GOP turnout, roughly 10-20% higher than in 2008 which I think shows the base was waiting for the red meat. Because in IA and NH turnout was less than 5% higher in both states and that was with big Ron Paul votes from moderates and even some Dems.

I got to go with Johnathan Alter here. I think the establishment is underestimating the angry in their party. Not just with Obama but with the GOP establishment. If Gingrich plays this anger right I think he’s got an even chance to be Romney or at least something in the 40-50% range. Gingrich is the quintessential mauler and brawler so at least up to Super Tuesday he is gonna make Romney earn every vote.

Of course this is the exact trait that would make Gingrich just about unelectable in the general against Obama.

As we’ve discussed, this could create a true civil war in the GOP. Rush had his Operation Chaos in trying to create a Dem civil war by pushing Repubs to keep Hilary alive against Obama…but the division in the Dems wasn’t as profound.

The division between GOP Elites and those of the Tea Party is enormous and if each has a candidate, it will be a civil war that will never come together fully.

So, should Dems take a page from the Repub handbook and in open primary states, vote for Gingrich over Romney?

Patsy, what you say is so true.
If money is speech these corporations are screaming ! NEWT !
I am speaking against Newt and all the other GOPTP candidates, but because I have little money it is but a whisper.

Seriously, how can the other elected Republicans in office support Gingrich when they threw him out as the Speaker of the House? Or do they handle it like the Christians and say he has been “forgiven” for his faults?